By Youri Kemp From Caribbean News Now

NASSAU, Bahamas — There has been a surge in the number of child abductions in the capital city of Nassau, New Providence, in The Bahamas, with five abductions over four separate incidents occurring over the last three weeks.

The children are apparently being abducted off of the streets of Nassau with the only common thread appearing to be the abductors have all been identified as women and in two incidents two children were left by the City Dump after they were abducted and found by members of the public passing by.

The timeline of reported abductions over the past three weeks are as follows:

The first abduction was on Sunday, February 17, when a three-year-old boy was allegedly abducted by two women in a silver coloured vehicle while riding his bicycle in the area of South Beach Estates. The child was later dropped off the following day at a laundromat in the central area of New Providence with no apparent injuries.

The second abduction happened on Sunday, March 3, when The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) reported that a six-year-old girl had been abducted around 2:00 a.m. (EST) in the morning after an unidentified man had reportedly entered a home on Milton Street and abducted her.

Police said in less than an hour the six-year-old girl was seen walking in the area of a cemetery in the South Eastern area of New Providence by a passer-by, where the child was then taken to the nearest police station. The child’s mother also reported that the child was also said to have been sexually molested. The RBPF denied that the child was sexually assaulted after further investigations into the matter.

The third abduction happened on Wednesday, March 6, where the RBPF reported that a male child of an unspecified age was abducted from a park in the South Western area of New Providence, by an unidentified female who was the sole occupant of a grey vehicle. The child was later reported to have been dropped off near to the entrance of the City Dump near the Western area of New Providence.

The fourth and fifth abductions happened on Thursday, March 7. The RBPF reported that sometime around 4:00 p.m., two boys, ages ten and eight, were walking in the South Eastern area of New Providence when they were allegedly abducted by a female driving a dark coloured vehicle, of which she was the sole occupant.

A short time later, the ten-year-old boy was returned to where he was allegedly abducted and the eight-year-child was left near the entrance of the City Dump heading towards the Western area of New Providence.

These abductions come as there has been a renewed call by people in the community for the government of The Bahamas to fully enforce “Marco’s Law”. This was named after eight-year-old Marco Archer who in 2011 was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered by convicted criminal Khofe Goodman. Goodman is currently serving life in prison for Archer’s rape and murder. Archer was found dead after being missing for several days in 2011. His young body was discovered in a dumpster near to a condominium where Goodman was allegedly staying, unbeknownst to the RBPF or the general public.

As a result of Marco’s Law, persons in the community have been waiting since 2011 for the full implementation of the “Marco Archer Alert System” — a quick alert system for missing and allegedly abducted children.

Calls for the implementation of the March Archer Alert System have gotten louder since these latest abductions as more prominent members of the community have joined the public’s outcry. The late Marco Archer’s family has also been vocal for the alert system’s implementation.

The entire New Providence community is in a state of panic and in great fear for the safety of their children.

The RBPF have said that they are sensing a trend and certain characteristics about these abductions. They have released a police sketch of one of the suspected females, but are also asking persons in The Bahamas with any information on these reported abductions to contact police at the Central Detective Unit at 5029991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328- TIPS (8477) or 919.

For more on this story go to: https://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/2019/03/13/fifth-child-abducted-in-the-bahamas-during-three-week-span/